When I was 6 years old my dad took me canoeing and camping on the Kettle River in Northern Minnesota. We didn’t have great gear for such an event but we made up for that with a spirit of adventure. We spent the first day fishing and running rapids. We came upon a small island we gleefully turned into our home for the night. We did not have a tent. We set one long branch in the wedge of another branch shaped like a “Y” and draped a piece of clear plastic over the top. During the night we heard a raucous my dad claimed was raccoons fighting over the minnow bucket. He was proven right when we saw the glowing eyes of numerous raccoons staring at us odd figures invading their island. The following day was again spent fishing and navigating the rapids of the river. In the heat of the day we ran a small set of rapids. My dad grabbed an eddy below the rapids and paddled to shore. He told me to walk up to the start of the rapids and get in. He instructed me to trust my life jacket, get my feet out in front of me to bounce off rocks and make my way down to him where he would catch me. I sprinted to the top of the rapids astonished at the freedom I was being given to enjoy the river and cool off. I bounced my way through the rapids with a wide smile having the time of my life. I drank half the river but immediately asked to do it again and dad said yes. I must of swam those rapids a dozen to 15 times until I was just so exhausted I needed to get out, rest and warm up (the water was frigid). I was shaking from the cold and fatigue and more than a few bruises and scrapes from the rocks and gravel of the river. I welcomed the rest, but I have been hooked on rapids ever since.
Now at nearly fifty years old, I see this event from a different perspective. Life has reflected that experience in many ways. The current of life carries us downstream. This is not always a thrilling or peaceful journey. We get bounced along the rocks of difficult decisions, frantic schedules, disappointments, tragedies, and expectations. Every once in awhile we need to get out the chaos and catch our breath. Moments such as these provide the chance to recover, regroup, and find a fresh perspective on what life is about. This is the role a retreat can play for your family.
When done properly, a family retreat is really a vacation with a purpose. It is the opportunity to step out of the river of life. This respite from the rapids is intentional and necessary. Splashing through the rapids of a river is thrilling, fun, scary, exhausting, invigorating, and tense all rolled together. However, the beauty of the river cannot be seen from that perspective. The beauty is best noticed and appreciated when standing still in quiet observation and gratefulness. Life is a beautiful gift unseen amidst the craziness of life. People become projects, and tasks become conquests. When we stop, we see the beauty of the people around us and the opportunity of the life we have been given.
Running through the rapids can look and feel quite chaotic and unorganized. However, the process is actually quite controlled and planed. There have been people that have gone before to learn and pass their knowledge onto us. There is a big picture that provides the context for the finer decisions. Likewise, life can look and feel scattered. However, we have Jesus, the author of life who has gone before us. God has the big picture perspective we do not possess. A retreat gives us the time to see that big picture as we place our faith and trust in Him. His commands and promises reveal His plan and His heart for us. Without Him, there is no context and life is chaos. Because of Him we know where the pieces fit and follow His lead.
Mark 1:35 says about Jesus, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”
Mark 6:46 also talks about Jesus retreating. “And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.”
There is more:
Luke 6:12; “In these days he went out to the mountains to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.”
Matthew 14:23; “And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.”
Jesus has modeled for us the necessity of a retreat. The Son of God needed this time and so do we!
PRAISEALLUJIAH!
Jon Albert